Guantanamo Britons will go to UK jails

The British terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba will serve their prison sentences in the United Kingdom if convicted.

Nine Britons are being held at the American base and could be detained there for years if found guilty by the military tribunals which are due to try them.

The Government has negotiated a deal, however, which would see the prisoners tried in Cuba but serve only a few months on the island before being returned to Britain to serve the remainder of their sentences.

In return, Britain has agreed to abide by the sentences handed down by the American military tribunals and not to release the men early.

Related Articles

Ministers are concerned that the collapse of a prosecution in Britain would anger the public and be politically damaging.

One senior government adviser said: "The Americans would be glad if we took the men now, but there is little chance of them being tried here because we have little evidence against them that would be admissible in a British court.

"However there is nothing to stop us taking them after the military tribunal is over. That would be a humanitarian thing to do. They would be near their families."

Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, met American officials for the third time last week to agree on the details of the treatment of the detainees.

A spokesman said: "These are complex legal issues which require time to resolve. We remain in touch with the detainees' families and lawyers."

Two Britons, Feroz Abbasi, 23, from south London, and Moazzam Begg, 35, from Birmingham, are among six suspects - four not from Britain - who will be the first to appear in front of the tribunals, which will be conducted partly in secret and without a jury.

Seven other Britons are awaiting a decision on their fate. All were captured in Afghanistan in early 2002, after allegedly fighting for the Taliban. They are: Shafiq Rasul, 24, Asif Iqbal, 20, and Ruhal Ahmed, 20, all of Tipton, West Midlands; Martin Mubanga, 29, from north London; Jamal Udeen, 35, from Manchester; Richard Belmar, 23, from London, and Tarek Dergoul, 24, from east London.

Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, publicly offered to repatriate the men in February 2002 if Britain put them on trial, after concerns about their fate were raised by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary.